After 30 years…who would have thought!

When I was eight years old I became fast friends with a curly, strawberry blond haired, spunky girl named Melissa. She lived down the street and we were inseparable. She took dance lessons: ballet, jazz, tap and baton, so I wanted to take lessons, too.  My parents agreed to sign me up and I loved it! I can still remember the smell of my first pink leather ballet shoes and what it was like in the basement studio in the little town of Algona, Iowa.

My family moved back to Boise the next year and I continued taking dance lessons all through my school years. In my eighth grade year of school, my English teacher asked us to write an essay on where we saw ourselves in twenty years. I wrote about being a dance teacher and owning my own dance studio, never thinking that would be what I would really do.  I couldn’t think of anything else to write about. I enjoyed dancing, was on a studio performing team and didn’t have any “real” career aspirations, so, why not?

It is surreal to think that I have now been dancing for 30 years and I have owned a studio for over 16 years! As I am starting another season of dance, I am joyed to look back at all the wonderful memories I have growing up through dance and how I am now blessed to pass on the love of dance to so many young people! Whether you dance for a while, or for a lifetime, it is a special gift that stays in your heart.  Do you have someone you can introduce the joy of dance to?

​Dotty

P.S. Each month a different staff member will be sharing a blog post. It may be a story or helpful tips, so be watching for fun posts from the DAA staff!

Dotty and Melissa performing a baton routine in a community parade.